


sunflower

by kingnyoungie



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Best Friends, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, kinda a youtuber au no one asked for really, soundcloud rapper! mark, youtuber! donghyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26305576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingnyoungie/pseuds/kingnyoungie
Summary: Donghyuck lives the best life he could possibly live—he’s a youtuber and he makes money through his covers, he lives with the bestest friend he has in the world, Lee Jeno, and he’s making waves in the internet, being labeled as the Nation’s Boyfriend™ without being anyone’sactualboyfriend.What could go wrong?Donghyuck asks himself, as he befriends a soundcloud rapper named Mark Lee.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Comments: 4
Kudos: 92





	sunflower

**Author's Note:**

> online school is STILL a bitch unfortunately. i wanted to do something light and fluffy considering that my previous fics have been ~heavy~ and ~angsty~ so yeah. also would y'all like a svt fic? i'll probably make one even if y'all wouldn't like one anyways hA.
> 
> talk to me about anything on  twitter   
> don’t forget to leave a kudos if you liked it, and please drop comments! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡  
> it inspires me to continue writing and shows me that u guys are still interested in what i write <33

#### One.

“Hey guys! What’s up? How’s everyone doing? I haven’t been able to post much for the past few weeks, and that’s mostly because Jeno and I had to move from our old apartment to our new one! It’s really pretty here, and it’s basically Jeno and I’s dream apartment, with all the natural lighting and cozy vibes,” Donghyuck rants, showing their new apartment using the camera in his hand.

“Jeno got a raise from his job and I’ve been receiving enough youtube money to finance our new home, and to live in _relative_ comfort, too, so thank you! So, one night, we decided and talked about moving out to look for our dream apartment, and now, we’ve finally moved in!” Donghyuck further explains, as he showcases the entire apartment, moving around as the camera shows his bright and smiley face, periodically showing the more _interesting stuff_.

“There’s even a room I can use to record, edit and write my stuff! Look! All my stuff is there right now, and I’ve worked really hard in order to organize the stuff that’s there right now. Unfortunately though, you guys won’t be seeing much of Jeno today, he’s at work still and he’s probably gonna arrive home _very_ tired,” Donghyuck says, as he sets the camera on the kitchen counter.

“This vid will probably just be a small update video, showing our new apartment and probably showing me try to cook for Jeno. I’ll be back with a cover soon, I promise!” Donghyuck says, as he proceeds to look for ingredients to use for his and Jeno’s dinner.

Donghyuck hums and decides to prepare kimchi jjigae for him and Jeno. Surely, when he posts the said video, his subscribers will probably freak out over his and Jeno’s domesticity—it’s honestly more surprising if they _wouldn’t_. Hell, even their closest of friends would mistake them to be in a relationship, with how Donghyuck and Jeno are naturally domestic. It’s how their friendship has always been, since they’d been kids.

Jeno and Donghyuck. Donghyuck and Jeno.

It would make sense for them to be really _soft_ and _clingy_ with each other, honestly; Jeno was naturally receptive of physical touches and enjoyed being at the receiving end of it, and Donghyuck was always the one to initiate it, considering that the tanned boy was incredibly reliant on physical touches for affirmation and reassurance. Jeno and Donghyuck were also naturally in synch; considering that they had been best friends since they were both three years old, it was hard not to be. Jeno could understand Donghyuck even if Donghyuck wouldn’t utter a word, and Donghyuck could understand Jeno even if Jeno just _breathes_.

For their tight-knit group of friends that consists of Renjun, Yangyang, and Jaemin, it was very normal for Jeno and Donghyuck to simply just act like an _old married_ couple. Even if all of them knew that the two weren’t _actually_ dating.

Donghyuck and Jeno had met in a playground, when Donghyuck had been crying because a wound had been forming in his knees, after one of the older kids pushed him. Jeno, being the _pure and kind_ soul that he is, helped Donghyuck up and told some of the older kids off. Surprisingly, the older kids had listened to Jeno, as Jeno had been reprimanding them with a bright smile, still. After Jeno had reprimanded the older kids, he looked over to Donghyuck and held his hand out for Donghyuck to take—helping Donghyuck find his mother. Surprisingly enough, Donghyuck’s mother had been found conversing with Jeno’s mother, and hence, Jeno had explained to his mom and Donghyuck’s mom about what had happened. Donghyuck was still crying, and Donghyuck’s mom had been trying her best to soothe her son’s wails, wiping away at his tears. Jeno squeezes Donghyuck’s hand, and Donghyuck begins to calm down—Jeno smiles at him and Donghyuck stops sobbing.

Jeno introduces himself to the smaller boy, and Donghyuck introduces himself too. Jeno invites Donghyuck to play and Donghyuck accepts the invitation—not knowing that at that very moment, he’d accepted the boy in his life for the rest of his life.

“Okay, so now that the kimchi jjigae is cooking, what could I possibly do?” Donghyuck asks the camera, as if the camera could possibly answer him.

“I’ll go on twitter to look for questions I could answer, then, as I wait for this to finish.”

Donghyuck grabs his phone and tweets out something about questions his subscribers would like to ask.

There had been a flurry of “are you and Jeno dating?” questions or something similar, and Donghyuck sighs at that.

He could _only_ wish, to be honest.

Donghyuck couldn’t really pinpoint the exact time when the love he felt for Jeno had surpassed being platonic and became _romantic._

The thing is, their natural attitude towards the friendship had always been that of domesticity, familiarity, and love—it became quite hard to distinguish when Donghyuck had felt that he wanted those things and more. It was hard to know exactly when Donghyuck had felt like he didn’t just want to be Jeno’s _best friend, roommate, and platonic soulmate_ , Donghyuck wanted to be Jeno’s _boyfriend, better half, and romantic soulmate._

At least Jeno wasn’t a _serial dater_ during high school and college. That would have _definitely_ taken a toll on Donghyuck, and thus, their friendship. Donghyuck had dated a boy named Lucas during college for three months, until they both realized that they were better off as friends. To this day, he and Lucas remain close friends, and Lucas had even been the one to introduce Yangyang into their friend group, since Yangyang had been good friends with Lucas’ boyfriend, Hendery. Jeno dated a boy named Felix for two months, too, but it hadn’t been serious. For the most part, the two had become _gaming bros_ and realized that the relationship wouldn’t really move past that.

After such relationships during college, neither Donghyuck nor Jeno got into relationships. Mostly because the two barely had time for anything else besides their careers and their existing friendships. Jeno was an amazing dance teacher and choreographer, choreographing dances for popular idol groups. Donghyuck, obviously, was a youtuber and aspiring musician.

Donghyuck had been on youtube for a year, and he’s amassed five million subscribers, a predominantly international audience, too. Donghyuck had opened up about his sexuality and how his sexuality has affected his life in Korea, which made him a role model for Korean youth and his international audience as well. His covers range from Korean ballads to English pop songs. Donghyuck covered songs that he genuinely just liked listening to. More often than not, Donghyuck plays around with tracks as well and provides his own twist on the covers he makes—he gives it a twist that is so _inherently_ Donghyuck.

The more popular ones though, would have to be his acoustic ones—the ones that Jeno helps with. As with most things in Donghyuck’s life, Jeno had been extremely supportive of his best friend starting a new youtube channel for his music. Donghyuck had always been passionate about singing, since they had been kids, and so Jeno encouraged him to take a leap of faith and share his talent with the world. So, there were certain songs that Jeno would help him with, since Donghyuck could never really play the guitar as well as Jeno. The most recent had been their cover of Honesty by Pink $weats.

Many people loved the cover, not only because Donghyuck’s vocals had fit the song _so perfectly_ , it felt as if the song was made for him to sing, but also because Jeno looks _too damn_ attractive in the said video. Jeno was wearing black skinny jeans, an oversized cream sweater, and his thin-framed wired glasses. Jeno looked like the boyfriend Donghyuck had always wanted but could never have. Besides that, the comment section had gone wild for the said video, his subscribers gushing about how Jeno looked at Donghyuck as if Donghyuck could do nothing wrong—as if Donghyuck was the answer to any question that troubled Jeno.

Donghyuck doesn’t see the way Jeno looks at him (or maybe he’s _pretending_ he doesn’t see it, in order to not hurt himself with harmful _assumptions_ ), but he does see the way he looks at Jeno—full of love and adoration, despite the looks being stolen glances.

Donghyuck, of course, ignored the questions about him and Jeno dating, instead choosing to answer the “are you single?” ones.

“I am, in fact, painfully single,” Donghyuck laughs as he looks into the camera.

“When’s your next cover with Jeno?” Donghyuck reads aloud, before answering, “When he’s not busy with work anymore. He’s been really busy with work recently and I don’t want to pester him into helping me since he’s been very tired.”

“Can you collaborate with Mark Lee? Lmao he’s been such a big fan of yours and he literally obsesses over you in every one of his videos,” Donghyuck reads, and he laughs loudly.

“I can collaborate with Mark Lee, if he’s down! I’ve heard some of his stuff from soundcloud, since Yangyang had stumbled upon him during one of our hangouts. So yeah, I’m down for a collab, just dm me, Mark Lee!” Donghyuck says to the camera with a bright smile.

Donghyuck was completely honest with how he stumbled upon Mark Lee, but he kind of also left out the fact that he found Mark to be _very cute._ Yangyang had been raving about a fellow soundcloud rapper named Mark Lee, and if Donghyuck were being honest, the only soundcloud rapper he’s actually listen to was Yangyang, considering the boy was actually _talented_ and the said boy is his close friend, but when Yangyang forcibly let Donghyuck listen to one of Mark’s songs, his interest was definitely piqued.

Donghyuck had stalked Mark over twitter, alongside Yangyang, and they had cooed over how cute the boy had been, despite writing about some Spicy™ stuff. Donghyuck also found out that the boy had been transitioning into making youtube content as well, which probably explains why Mark’s fans had decided to invite Donghyuck for a collaboration with Mark themselves.

Donghyuck checks the kimchi jjigae he’s cooking and sees that it was done. He turns the stove off and gathers some plates for him and Jeno. He turns back to the camera to bid farewell, and he turns off the camera.

Exactly five seconds after Donghyuck had turned the camera off, Jeno enters their shared apartment with a loud sigh.

“Shitty day at work?” Donghyuck asks, as he greets Jeno with a warm hug.

Jeno melts into the hug and mutters a small ‘yes.’

“C’mon then. I made kimchi jjigae for dinner, it’s fresh out of the stove. Unless you want to wash up first?” Donghyuck says, as he rubs Jeno’s back comfortingly.

“I’ll wash up quickly, then we can eat dinner. Maybe share a bottle of wine, too. It’s Friday after all,” Jeno mumbles into Donghyuck’s shoulder, as his face was squished into Donghyuck’s shoulder.

Donghyuck lets a chuckle rumble through his chest before he pats Jeno’s back encouragingly and saying, “Alright, then. Go wash up and we’ll have dinner and drink wine as we binge that Netflix show we’d been talking about.”

#### Two.

“Mark, that’s literally what you said!”

“Donghyuck, I literally said I liked your music! I didn’t say I _fell in love_ with you!”

“Yeah, well you implied it,” Donghyuck snorted, rolling his eyes for good measure.

He and Mark were giggling away, choosing to do a q and a video for their channels before they release their song collaborations. They had been bickering non-stop as they had met for the day—it was the dynamic they had grown comfortable with from the moment they first met.

It had been a month ago, since Mark had messaged him on Instagram asking him if he was serious about the collaboration. Prior to the message, Donghyuck however, had seen some clips on twitter showing that Mark had freaked out over Donghyuck mentioning him on his video. If Donghyuck was being honest, Yangyang had been the one to show him the clips—he could still hear Yangyang’s loud giggling as Yangyang rushed to shove his phone up Donghyuck’s face. If Donghyuck would be _more_ honest, Donghyuck had found it cute.

After Donghyuck had seen Mark’s message, Donghyuck had replied a “yes lmao, im v serious. ur in seoul rn right?”

When Mark had replied a “yes,” they were quick to organize a meeting.

They had met up at a quaint little café that Donghyuck had wanted to visit with Jeno; though he sadly couldn’t, as Jeno was too busy with choreographing dances for their upcoming showcase. Donghyuck had been wearing a white graphic tee tucked into ripped skinny jeans, with a leather jacket to match. He had worn boots as well, feeling like he wanted to dress up more than usual for _absolutely no reason_. Mark then, had been wearing blue skinny jeans, a cream-colored Balenciaga sweater, and a pair of Balenciaga sneakers. Donghyuck remembers thinking that Mark dressed _exactly_ like a soundcloud rapper, whatever that could mean.

( _Yangyang did, too, much to Renjun’s demise. Yangyang wore expensive Gucci sweaters and even more expensive Nike sneakers. Whereas Yangyang is the epitome of streetwear, Renjun was the epitome of hipster. Renjun doesn’t like to admit it but Renjun is too whipped to even shame his boyfriend for his fashion choices. Not when Yangyang looked too good in an all-Nike ensemble, looking expensive as hell.)_

The moment they had locked eyes, Donghyuck couldn’t help the smirk forming on his lips. The older male had looked like a deer caught in headlights, eyes widened in surprise. The older male had been sporting a slight blush as he moved towards Donghyuck. Barely even five seconds after they introduced themselves, Donghyuck had already started annoying and teasing the older, which the older male had been awkward with at first, but grew to enjoy as the time passed by. They discussed content they’d both like to make with each other, and they both agreed that before they release a song they’d write together, they should probably release a few covers to test the audience response first and to test their chemistry as musicians.

After their first meeting, the two had exchanged phone numbers. Mark had brought a car along, thus offered Donghyuck a ride home. Donghyuck had declined at first, thinking that it would hassle the older too much, but when Mark asked Donghyuck about his address, Mark said that Donghyuck’s apartment was on the way to his apartment anyways. So, Donghyuck agreed and they spent more time chatting in Mark’s car, Yangyang’s songs randomly popping up in Mark’s driving playlist. Donghyuck must have been visibly surprised to hear his friend’s rap in Mark’s playlist, because Mark had quickly explained that he was actually a fan of Yangyang first, before he had discovered Donghyuck.

 _Huh,_ Donghyuck thinks, _Maybe Yangyang can be blamed for everything in the world, like Renjun says._ (Yangyang is also very much to _blame_ for Renjun falling head over heels for him, but Donghyuck doesn’t say that. Out loud, at least.)

Now, they were seated in the couch of Donghyuck’s office and recording room, faced with a camera and some studio lights lighting the entire frame up.

“Okay, whatever. Next question for Mark-hyung: What’s one thing about Donghyuck that you love?” Donghyuck reads out cheekingly, purposefully choosing questions that would open up an avenue for teasing.

“Is that even a legitimate question? I don’t even think that’s a question!” Mark says loudly, as he flushes deep red and tries to snatch Donghyuck’s phone to check the screen.

Donghyuck laughs loudly and gives in to the older boy, “Alright, I was kidding. The real question is: What’s one thing that you wanna write about with Donghyuck?”

“Ah well, if I’m being honest, I was thinking about writing a song about love—not the usual heteronormative Korean shit, though. Donghyuck had been one of my biggest inspirations as to why I infuse lyrics about my sexuality in my songs. He was the one who made me realize that I could be who the hell I wanted to be. I could have easily masked my love for men, too, you know. Being a soundcloud rapper and all that. I’m bisexual, I could have chosen to write about my attraction to women only, but I didn’t do that, because I heard Yangyang, with enough swag to nuke the entire planet, rap about how amazing his boyfriend was—because I also listened and watched Donghyuck, speaking about his sexuality, singing about the things he had gone through because of it. I wanted to be brave like them. And yeah, I guess I wanna write a song about love with Donghyuck-not because I’m _in love_ with him or anything-but because I genuinely want to sing a song about not being heteronormative with someone who understands what I’ve gone through,” Mark passionately explains, looking straight towards the camera, voice unwavering but gentle.

Donghyuck was surprised, but he knew he had a small smile on his face, “I didn’t know that.”

“I’d be concerned if you did, haven’t said that shit anywhere,” Mark laughs and Donghyuck just slaps his arm.

“Okay, you’re turn.”

“Lee Donghyuck, do you have any favorite videos? Which ones are they and why?”

“Hmm, probably the Honesty one? Yeah, that one. I really love my covers with Jeno, generally, because it’s a reminded of our childhood—when we used to be prepubescent boys in my backyard, Jeno strumming his guitar mindlessly and somehow finding a chord similar to a song we know, and I begin to randomly belt out lyrics. The Honesty one specifically, because I felt really pleased with how my voice sounded there, and Jeno probably didn’t notice, but he was harmonizinig with me really well, too. It took about two takes for me to get the video I wanted and yeah, it was pretty much the easiest video I’ve filmed. Plus, videos with Jeno, they’re the ones I usually experiment less with—in a sense, they’re more raw and more telling of who I am. Its just me, my best friend, his guitar, and a camera,” Donghyuck explains, a fond smile decorating his face as he talks about his best friend.

“Interesting,” Mark hums out, drawing out the _e_ and Donghyuck pointedly looks at him.

“Whatever—my turn now! Mark Lee, who is your favorite singer and why is it Lee Donghyuck?” Donghyuck asks, a playful grin adorning his face, alongside eyes with an eternally teasing glint in them.

“Donghyuck! That’s not even a question!”

“Well, it is now!”

\--

Donghyuck had been finding himself filming and spending time with Mark a lot, recently—with Jeno’s increased absence due to his job, Donghyuck had to find someone to _annoy_ and _cling_ to.

Jaemin and Jisung all work alongside Jeno, hence, they were also _equally as_ busy as Jeno.

Chenle was in China, finalizing papers to expand their business in Korea.

Renjun was always with Yangyang and Yangyang was always with Renjun—though Donghyuck loved both Chinese men, he _abhors_ third-wheeling for them. There was just _something_ inherently _cheesy_ between the two, even if most of the time, Renjun looks like he’s about to slap Yangyang _(with fondness)._

So, Mark, being new to Seoul and having little to _no_ friends of his age, became complicit to Donghyuck’s antics.

It’s a good thing that their viewers loved their content together, too—Donghyuck’s subscribers really liked seeing Donghyuck around Mark, finding their endless bickering entertaining and very _funny._ Mark’s subscribers and listeners grew fond of the boy from Jeju, too—it was nice for them to see a side of Mark that was lax, laidback, and tinged with the slightest bit of awkwardness. Mark was commonly perceived as stoic and _intense_ because of his music and content, so now that Mark had been spending some quality time with the man that _radiates_ softness and chill, it was obvious that Mark had become more comfortable with showing such sides of him on-screen, too.

Donghyuck had been out for the day with Mark. They had spent the day trying to assemble Ikea furniture together for Mark’s bare apartment, trying to make entertaining content out of it. Donghyuck knows they’ve got enough footage to give Mark and his editor a headache—it was Mark and Donghyuck, after all; Mark and Donghyuck will _always_ be entertaining.

But Donghyuck isn’t lying when he says he just _badly_ wants to crash in his bed after all that work. Yes, filming with Mark had been fun, but it was still very tiring.

So, as he sluggishly walks to his and Jeno’s front door, he lets out a deep sigh. It had been a few days since he last saw Jeno as well, since the slightly older man had been arriving dead into the night, and leaving early at dawn.

Donghyuck opens the door, not expecting Jeno to be seated on their couch, wrapped around a bunch of Donghyuck’s soft blankets, watching the drama that Donghyuck had recommended him. Jeno looks unbelievably _soft_ and _cuddly_ and it takes every ounce of Donghyuck’s willpower to not audibly coo over Jeno. Donghyuck closes the door, and Jeno’s head immediately snaps towards him.

“Hyuckie,” Jeno says with a visible pout. _Oh, fucking hell—whatever kind of god there is out there is out to get me,_ Donghyuck thinks.

“Hi Jen,” Donghyuck chuckles, as he takes off his shoes and fixes them on their shared shoe rack.

“Missed you lots, come cuddle with me,” Jeno murmured, making grabby hands towards Donghyuck.

“Alright, then,” Donghyuck replies, because he is a _weak, weak_ man for Lee Jeno, and his pouts.

Donghyuck doesn’t care that he’s in skinny jeans instead of sweatpants, nor does he care that he’s binged the drama they’re watching in entirety already; what he cares for, is the fact that Lee Jeno _misses_ him and is _cuddling_ into him like he doesn’t want to let go of Donghyuck.

“How was your filming with Mark?” Jeno asked, mumbling into Donghyuck’s hair, as Donghyuck’s head was settled right under Jeno’s chin, Donghyuck’s body trapped in Jeno’s arms.

“Fun, but really tiring,” Donghyuck muttered back, gaze still on the drama playing before them.

“You should meet him soon, you’ll like him—Yangyang and Renjun have met him, too and Yangyang loved him,” Donghyuck added.

“Hmm, I should. Maybe bring him to the showcase or something. And Yangyang loves everyone, I think you should have a better standard regarding on whether I’d like someone,” Jeno pointed out, chuckling as he’s reminded of their other friends.

Donghyuck giggles, “You’re right.”

“I’m sorry if I haven’t been spending much time with you recently,” Jeno apologizes, looking at Donghyuck’s face to find a reaction.

Donghyuck twists his body at the apology, immediately turning to face Jeno. “Never apologize for chasing your dreams, okay? I can handle a few days without you snuggling me and spending time with me if it means that you’re doing what you love,” Donghyuck answered.

“It’s not like you completely ignored me, either. You and I were texting non-stop still, right?” Donghyuck added.

“Yeah, and I love my job but I also love you—a lot. I don’t want you thinking that you’re less important than my job because you’re not, Hyuckie. If you ever get too lonely, or you miss me too much, or you just want to talk, tell me, okay? I’ll always make time for you,” Jeno reminded Donghyuck, looking straight into Donghyuck’s eyes, eyes filled with so much sincerity that Donghyuck wants to cry.

“I love you too, dumbass. I’ll promise I’ll tell you if it gets bad, but right now, I think Mark-hyung is doing a good job distracting me, don’t you think?” Donghyuck responds, fondness seeping out of his soft voice.

“Cut Mark some slack, Hyuck. He’s just moved three months ago and you’ve already been harassing and traumatizing the poor man—he might just move back to Canada,” Jeno teases him and Donghyuck snorts.

“As if,” Donghyuck says, “he’s been having such a _stellar_ time unsupervised by his parents that he seems to forget the trauma I’ve been inflicting on him.”

“Whatever you say, _Hyuckie,”_ Jeno teases, as he holds Donghyuck closer and hugs him even tighter.

\--

It was the day of Jeno’s showcase, and Donghyuck was supposed to meet Chenle, Renjun and Yangyang on the venue itself. Mark had picked him up, and they were driving to a flower shop so that Donghyuck could buy a bouquet of flowers for his _best friend_. Donghyuck and Mark decided to go together, since it would be the first time Mark would be meeting Donghyuck’s friends, aside from Renjun and Yangyang, who he had met in because of that one time the couple dropped by Donghyuck’s apartment to nag Donghyuck for food while they had been filming.

Donghyuck bought a bouquet of sunflowers, a flower that was special to both him and Jeno—every time each of them had an event or something worth congratulating, the other would buy a bouquet of sunflowers. When Jeno first did it for the first time when Donghyuck had joined a school talent show, Donghyuck had asked him _why_ sunflowers. Jeno just shrugged with a small smile, saying “if you’re the sun, Hyuckie, then I’d be the sunflower that watches, follows and supports your every move.”

Donghyuck and Mark arrive at the venue ten minutes before the start of the show, and they both look for Chenle, Yangyang and Renjun.

“Oh, there, I see them,” Mark points towards the couple, with two seats empty next to them.

Donghyuck looks toward the direction Mark was pointing at, and starts walking, Mark following closely behind him.

“Hey guys,” Donghyuck greets the two, the trio’s heads immediately snapping to look towards their direction—Yangyang’s gummy smile instantaneously presents itself on his face, Chenle offers them a wide smile as well, and Renjun opted to give them a small smile.

“Hyuck! Here, we saved seats for you guys,” Yangyang said, patting the empty seat next to him. Donghyuck introduces Mark formally to Chenle, and they all break into comfortable conversation.

They had all brought bouquets for their friends—Chenle would be giving one to Jisung _(as always)_ and Renjun had lost rock, paper, scissors against Yangyang, thus he would be the one to give Jaemin’s bouquet to him, this time around.

Fortunately, Mark was able to fit in comfortably into Donghyuck’s group of friends, _so far._ Mark was conversing with Chenle, and Chenle was immediately smitten to the older man. Yangyang adored Mark, while Mark adored him as well—that’s already enough to win over Renjun _(Renjun believes that everyone who adores Yangyang is worthy enough of respect)._ Jisung, Donghyuck’s not too worried about—the youngest of them would be a little awkward at first, but he’d get over it quickly once they bond over their obsession with boy group choreographies. Jaemin, Donghyuck is definitely not worried about—Jaemin was the type of person to cling on to _anyone_ and was very open and friendly to everyon. Jeno, however, Donghyuck was worried about. Jeno is probably one of the most important people in his life, and Donghyuck can’t help but feel the need to get his best friend’s genuine approval of his new friend. Though Donghyuck had talked about Mark in front of Jeno more than a couple of times, Donghyuck was still nervous.

Jeno was probably as nervous as Donghyuck—if not, more. Jeno was behind the stage, and he couldn’t really message Hyuck about his nerves and anxiety, because he’s preparing for his stages. But the anxiety Jeno feels seems to dissipate as soon as he reads Donghyuck’s text message: _“chill, jen. you’ll do great :DD”_

Soon enough, the showcase starts and dancers of all ages were performing in front of them. Jeno would be one of the last performers, alongside Jaemin and Jisung, considering that they had the most _seniority_ in their dance classes. This would be one of the first showcases where Jeno would be able to showcase a solo routine. Jaemin and Jisung had opted to do a duo, while Jeno was given the opportunity to do a solo and he took it.

Donghyuck had paid attention to all performers, feeling the hype and the energy from the dancers as they move to the music. Donghyuck even cooed at one of the youngest dancers that performed on stage—she was no more than seven years old, but she had the sassiest demeanor on stage that Donghyuck had ever seen, the child dancing to Chung Ha’s snapping, but it was choreographed by Jeno. Donghyuck had anticipated the child’s dance, considering that she had been one of Jeno’s _favorite (“No Hyuck, she’s not my favorite! I can’t play favorites in class!” “Okay, Jen”)_ kids and Jeno has definitely told Donghyuck about her.

The second to the last performance was Jaemin and Jisung’s, a powerful and energetic choreography to Yangyang’s track, Leonidas. When Jisung and Jaemin had first told them about their performance, they were all seated in Donghyuck and Jeno’s dining table, eating food made by Jaemin and Donghyuck. Jisung had shyly announced that they would be dancing to one of Yangyang’s tracks, and Jaemin had a _proud_ smile on his face the entire time. Yangyang had hugged Jisung and Jaemin immediately when he heard that the two would be choreographing a performance to his track, it was a very _important_ track to him, after all. To the unknowing eye, one would think that Jisung and Yangyang were only friends by proximity—because the two shared the same circle of friends; but the honest truth was Jisung idolizes the slightly older man. Yangyang had been Jisung’s role model, his free-spirited nature and ambitious personality had always spoke volumes to Jisung—so it was understandable _(and quite expected)_ for the youngest to choose one of Yangyang’s songs to dance to. Now, Donghyuck and his friends were all seated, watching Jaemin and Jisung dance. Jaemin always performs as if it was for _fun_. Not that Jaemin wasn’t serious, but his aura and demeanor when performing had always been _fun,_ making difficult movements look easy. Jisung, does a complete three hundred sixty degrees from how he usually is. Jisung on stage was fierce, powerful and destructive. The pair’s choreography matched the song _very well_.

Yangyang and Renjun had matching wide smiles on their faces, Chenle was cheering, and Donghyuck was cheering alongside him, while Mark was bopping his head to the track, letting out little sounds of amazement whenever a particular move hits _hard._

As much as Donghyuck and Jeno share everything, Jeno had been very secretive about his own performance. Donghyuck couldn’t even find out the song Jeno was going to use for the routine. When Donghyuck nagged Jeno for answers, Jeno had simply given him an _adorable_ smile, being the most secretive he had been for the duration of their entire friendship.

Jeno’s performance was next, and all the lights turned off. A single spotlight turned on, focusing solely on Jeno. The crowd was silent, waiting for the dancer to start performing. The music starts, and Jonghyun’s Moon plays through the speakers, filling the room with an _unexplainably_ sexy vibe. Jeno was wearing black skinny jeans, and a black satin top tucked into his jeans. He was also wearing a black satin choker, and Donghyuck almost _choked._ Jeno’s routine started slow and sensual, but as soon as the chorus hit, the dancer had intensely increased the pace of his movement, making the choreography more complicated and exhibiting his talent, skill and precision exceptionally well. Donghyuck was absolutely enchanted by the way Jeno moved his body—Donghyuck doesn’t even know if he had been breathing the entire time Jeno was performing.

Jeno finished his routine and the audience applauded him loudly, their group of friends having the loudest cheers. Jeno smiles and bows, and Donghyuck swears he hears the entire crowd _coo_ over Jeno’s eye smiles. All the performers crowd the stage as they bow together, and the crowd’s applause grows louder.

The group move towards Jeno, Jaemin and Jisung as all the performers step down from the stage.

Yangyang immediately engulfs both Jisung and Jaemin in a bear hug, thanking them for doing so well in using his song, and Renjun quickly follows behind his boyfriend with a smile, giving the bouquet of flowers to Jaemin. Jaemin thanks the couple in the form of smooches, and Yangyang lets Jaemin smooch him just this _once_ as thanks for using his song, but Renjun was much harder for Jaemin to coax. Chenle hugs his best friend as well, giving Jisung his bouquet.

“You did so well, Jen! You were really great out there,” Donghyuck had congratulated Jeno, engulfing him in a tight hug, and Jeno hugged him back, lifting the smaller boy in his arms in happiness.

“These are for you,” Donghyuck handed Jeno the bouquet of sunflowers, face decorated with the largest grin he could give Jeno.

“Thank you so much, Hyuckie,” Jeno thanked him, held the bouquet of sunflowers, and kissed Donghyuck at the top of Donghyuck’s head.

“Oh, Jen! Jaeminnie, Jisung! This is Mark-hyung,” Donghyuck introduced the three to Mark, and Jaemin immediately sent Mark a huge smile. Jisung offered a shy smile, and Jeno gave Mark a grin as well.

“You guys were really good out there,” Mark had genuinely complimented the three, an awkward and shy smile on his face.

“Thanks, hyung. It’s nice to finally meet _Donghyuck’s newest victim,_ ” Jeno thanked Mark.

“Hey—he’s not a victim!” Donghyuck complained and the group laughed.

After they had all settled and the three performers had changed into more comfortable clothing, the group of friends spent the night together. They had first gone for a dinner in a nearby hotpot place, and they all ended up sleeping over in Jeno and Donghyuck’s living room. Donghyuck couldn’t help but be filled with so much love and fondness for his friends.

#### Three.

Now that Jeno’s job had become _significantly_ less demanding after the showcase, Donghyuck was determined to spend as much time with Jeno as possible. He and Jeno had been spending more and more time at home, catching up on dramas they both wanted to watch and eating together.

They were even able to film some covers that Donghyuck could post again, too. Donghyuck had always edited his and Jeno’s covers with the least effort as possible. Not because he was too lazy—but he had always wanted his covers with Jeno to be more _genuine_ , _raw_ in a sense.

Donghyuck, however had begun missing Mark as well. Mark had been such a regular on his channel that the few weeks that he hadn’t filmed with Mark was unusual to him. Donghyuck and Mark had talked about setting up a collaborative channel, since the fans seem to love their dynamic, they live nearby enough so it wouldn’t be that much of a hassle, and they’re becoming such good friends, anyways.

So, Mark became a usual visitor in Jeno and Donghyuck’s apartment as well—Donghyuck and Mark had started to set up their collaborative channel and Jeno had been supportive the entire time.

Jeno would always come with Mark and Donghyuck’s adventures, and the fact that Jeno had been extremely supportive the entire time warms Donghyuck’s heart. Not only was Jeno extremely nice and comforting towards Mark, he was also making up for lost time with Donghyuck so much.

Jeno would always man the camera when Mark and Donghyuck decidedly spend the day at a playground, battling it out on some childish games. Jeno would come with them to grocery shop, when they’re looking for unusual Korean snacks that Mark should try. Jeno even sacrificed a few hours of sleep for them, when he went with them to visit a horror amusement park at night, for _spooks_.

But then, Donghyuck had asked Jeno to come with him and Mark to _chill_ in one of his and Mark’s favorite cafes and Jeno had declined, giving Donghyuck a tired smile and a small “maybe next time.”

This leaves Donghyuck extremely confused, but Donghyuck lets it go, trying to convince himself that Jeno was just too tired. So, Donghyuck gathered his important stuff and leaves their apartment, confusion written all over his face.

Donghyuck arrived at the café and immediately greets Mark, Mark quickly noticing the gloomy disposition of the younger man.

“What happened?” Mark had asked, voice laced with concern.

“Jeno—I think he’s upset about something, but I don’t know what,” Donghyuck explained with a frown.

Mark urged him to continue, and Donghyuck explained what happened the entire day. Jeno had been in a relatively good mood, waking up with a smile as he saw Donghyuck cooking pancakes. However, when Donghyuck had asked him if he wanted to join him and Mark, it was as if his entire day had been dampened.

Mark let out a sound of realization after Donghyuck had explained the entire thing.

“Hyuck, bro, dude—I could be totally wrong, but Jeno might be jealous? I mean the only time he gets to spend with you, I’m always tagging along,” Mark explained, and Donghyuck’s eyes widened in realization.

“First, don’t ever call me bro or dude ever again, if you value your life. Second, that makes sense, but its probably _friend_ jealous, right? Like because he’s scared I’m finding a _new best friend_ right?” Donghyuck asked.

Mark winced, “I’m probably not the best person to ask that, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck pouts, and Mark pats his head.

“You should probably go home and buy him cake as peace offering or something,” Mark pointed out.

“You’re right—thanks for today, Mark-hyung. Sorry we weren’t able to do anything productive,” Donghyuck said, as he grabbed his stuff and stood up.

“Don’t sweat it, I’ll need to come home soon anyways—Johnny-hyung’s visiting,” Mark said, and he stood up as well.

Donghyuck bought a slice of chocolate cake for Jeno, and a cup of his favorite drink. Mark offered Donghyuck a ride home, which Donghyuck graciously accepted.

Donghyuck, however, arrived to an empty apartment. He looked for a note of explanation, and checked his messages to see if Jeno had texted him about his whereabouts. Donghyuck found nothing, and this is when Donghyuck’s anxiety seeped in. Jeno had never been one to leave without an explanation—this was completely uncharacteristic of him.

Donghyuck kept the cake and the drink in the fridge. He checked his phone once more and found nothing—he tried calling Jeno, but Jeno’s phone had been unreachable. He calls every one of their friends and each of them had responded with not knowing about his whereabouts.

For some reason, a small voice in Donghyuck’s head nagged him, saying that he was at fault for Jeno’s uncharacteristic disappearance. Donghyuck felt as if he had taken advantage of his _best friend’s_ kindness and as if he had completely ignored his _best friend_. He felt like the shittiest best friend alive. Donghyuck had now opted to sit in the couch and snuggle one of their plushies on the couch, instead of pacing around their apartment like a madman.

Donghyuck was feeling anxious and extremely sad at the circumstances, and he felt like he couldn’t do anything but wait for Jeno.

The sun had long set and Jeno still hasn’t come back—Donghyuck fell asleep on the sofa, snuggling the plushie closer to him, sporting a heavy heart and tear-stained face.

\--

Jeno arrives an hour after Donghyuck had fallen asleep, and he doesn’t notice the slightly younger man’s presence in the living room—the rustle and movement woke Donghyuck up immediately. Donghyuck stands up immediately and clings to Jeno, Jeno chuckles lightly, taken aback at the man’s actions.

Jeno had been chuckling until he hears Donghyuck small sniffles, which caused Jeno to worry. He carries the man clinging to him to the couch, and he looks at Donghyuck who refused to let go of him.

“Hyuck, I’m sorry if I left suddenly without explanation, I kind of needed to be alone and take a breather,” Jeno explained, still cuddling the other boy.

“Why are you saying sorry? I should be the one saying sorry, I was a shitty _best friend_ and I didn’t notice that I was taking advantage of your kindness and I was neglecting you—and I didn’t even realize it until Mark-hyung made me realize it,” Donghyuck rambled in between sniffles.

Jeno smiles gently at him, wiping away Donghyuck’s tears.

“I don’t want to see you cry,” Jeno said, a gentle smile tugging at his lips, his eyes curving into the moon-shapes that Donghyuck absolutely loves.

“I’m sorry too, you know? Instead of telling you about how I’m feeling, I didn’t and you were left in the dark about how I felt,” Jeno apologized, and Donghyuck hugs him tighter.

Donghyuck lifts his head from where it was pressed against the crook of Jeno’s neck, and he looks at Jeno intently.

“I hope this doesn’t change anything, and you don’t even have to return it, really, I can get over it, but—I think I’m in love with you, Jen,” Donghyuck confesses, not being able to handle how absolutely amazing Jeno is.

“I think I’m in love with you, too, Hyuckie,” Jeno says, the _damned_ smile is decorating his _beautiful_ face again, and Donghyuck just loses it.

Donghyuck kisses Jeno, and Jeno kisses back.

#### Bonus.

“So you guys worked everything out?”

“Yes, Mark-hyung.”

“Don’t I get a _thank you, hyung_?”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes, “Okay, so maybe you deserve _some_ rights.”

Mark sighs, “Beggars really can’t be choosers, huh.”

**Author's Note:**

> im thinking that my next fics would probably be more wayv-centric, but i think i might also have another markhyuck up my sleeve. for those who loved my ~angsty~ and detail-oriented and ~realistic~ writing, y'all might not like the next fics i'd be putting out bc its a whole lot of my imagination instead of me recreating realistic and day-to-day life experiences but oh well. i write for myself, anyways.
> 
> i will, however, return to angsty and realistic fics. just u wait.


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